Bending and rope halter/hackamore/snaffle/side pull/cavesson

[Radinka]

As a spin-off from a previous thread, I am curious about opinions on horses bending "correctly" when in ridden in a rope halter.

The topic surfaced when I was musing about a comment I heard during a horsemanship demo a while ago, that rope halters were not training devices (which, in my opinion, I consider them to be). A fellow forum member suggested that the person commenting maybe could have meant riding in the rope halter. This as horses could tend to get "heavy headed" in a rope halter and begin some nasty habits (bracing, rooting etc). Another thing that might occur is that the horse starts to lead with his/her jaw instead of tucking it in and so to speak bend around the jaw.

Now, I'm curious about this! Your experiences? Of course, i realize it takes a soft and skilled hand to avoid the whole bracing/rooting/jaw-leading issue, but can it be done? Are there the same "hazards" with an ordinary hackamore fitted with a braided bosal? In what way would a snaffle be better, isn't there a "risk" that you de-sensitize the horse's mouth instead?

Other possible pieces of equipment also surfaced; the side pull and the classical cavesson (the more slim riding-variety, not the bulky thingy you might have used when longeing).

I know quite a few people who would start their horses in a cavesson and then progress into a double bridle consisting of cavesson + leverage bit and finish in the straight up bridle "blanken kandare" (just bridle bit, and riding one-handed) some pictures can be seen on http://www.gut-neuenhof.de/bilder.html almost at the absolute bottom of the page, a blond girl on a bay, "Lorenzo".

I'm curious about your opinions! I'll get back with my own few and small as not to bias this.

All the best!
Radinka

[rsandi5218]

I think if a person has the right feel and timing they could ride a horse his whole life in a halter depending on what you are doing with the horse as a job. Also, I personally don't spend a lot of time bending my horse a whole lot laterally after the first few rides.

Randy

[reata]

I think it all depends what you want to do with your horse. Some people are just happy to go for a ride on a nice horse.. Sounds good to me .. :-)
Other people like the feel of a light responsive horse under them .. one who is ready for any job that may come up and one who is very capable of doing it with the minimum of fuss and effort.. I'm also in that group .. That is why every time I ride my horse I'm aware of what I'm doing and I'm aware of my horse.. whether I'm trail riding, in the dressage arena or chasing cows.. This takes a lot of discipline but I wouldn't have it any other way .. Somebody asked Buck once when they could stop thinking when they rode their horses, he said You should never stop thinking .. That is so true..But I have found that it gets easier.. it becomes like second nature to be aware and thinking ..
Riding your horse in the correct shape builds muscles and strength into the horse.. letting him slob along hollow and upside down does nothing for his body and his soundness.. We want our horses light and not braced.. I see a lot of people riding braced horses in a halter.. They stop and go and turn but its all with a brace.. they are not in a correct "Shape" ..
But its horses for courses.. some people are happy with that..
I just want a little more and I'm sure most of the people on this board do too ..:eek:

[Titania]

I think one of the best compliment I ever got from my trainer is "you are a great rider...when you think!"

The trouble is my mind kind of wanders, or i get too focused on the wrong thing. I've got most of the mechanics down. i find that when I get too focused on one thing, or i don't have a clear picture in my head of what i want - that's when the brace happens, or we lose our gait. On one hand it's good b/c my horse is tuned into me. On the other hand it's bad b/c i feel awful, B/c I know I'm sending mixed inconsistent signals and I just let that horse down.

I don't like riding in a rope halter for too long. i'm not good enough to move it in subtle ways to give clear signals. I feel I do better with a snaffle, But then again it's probably what i use most.

I've never seen a side pull used correctly. but I know many have a lot of success. and I have used a cavesson from time to time. but only when my riding was at it's best and my hands were independant. Which sadly is not the case currently

[reata]

Tit, I bet your doing just fine..
Its hard work thinking all the time .. I'm sure your horse will let you have a few seconds off..:-)
I think we send mixed signals to our horses when we get confused or try to do stuff that is beyond our experience.. But our horses forgive us ..
Its best to just stop, regroup and start over.. A big breath.. let out the butterflies.. clear you head and start over..
Reward YOURSELF and your horse for the little things.. Those tiny things you both get right ..Those tiny little things all mount up .. and all of a sudden your have acheived something pretty important to your horse and you ..

"There's a purpose and a meaning behind each thing you ask the horse to do". RH

[Sue]

I think we send mixed signals to our horses when we get confused or try to do stuff that is beyond our experience.. But our horses forgive us ..
Its best to just stop, regroup and start over.. A big breath.. let out the butterflies.. clear you head and start over..


That is so hard to keep consistant in what I ask for. It's hard to remember to stay consistant from ride to ride... and actually WHAT I am asking for. As for as equipment, I found that it was easiest for ME to stay consistant with a bosal. I have a rawhide sidepull (no bit) and used it when Susan broke her jaw. I remember now WHY I don't like that thing and never use it. It has NO feel whatsoever, no life to it. I know that we shouldn't blame equipment, but that thing STINKS. It needs to go on Ebay.

You're so right, they are forgiving beasts.

[Excess]

I'm glad my horse thinks for me. =)